Dev Diary #51: Mission Selection Overhaul
The next big update will be the so-called “Mission Selection Overhaul,” as it does exactly that. We will change how operations are planned, how missions are selected, and how enemy assets work. Read on to find out why this is necessary and how it will play out! Why Rework the Mis
The next big update will be the so-called “Mission Selection Overhaul,” as it does exactly that. We will change how operations are planned, how missions are selected, and how enemy assets work.
Read on to find out why this is necessary and how it will play out!
Why Rework the Mission Selection?
Currently, each operation resembles a tree of connected missions that are loosely tied together by a narrative and thematic structure that will always lead up to a single final mission that ends the operation.
The idea behind this was to generate a meaningful narrative of that operation based on which missions players select. At the same time, offering different missions on each level to choose from was supposed to give players some agency in deciding which mission type to play, which strategic asset to get, and what difficulty the player felt comfortable with.
In theory, it is a great system, but in the actual game it falls flat for various reasons.
Where the Current System Falls Short
Firstly, the narrative structure is way too weak. It only comes through in the mission descriptions, which most players only glance over quickly anyway, and it does not include any meaningful choices. On top of that, limiting mission types on different levels of the operation substantially reduces the number of permutations that are allowed.
Especially with only two final missions for each operation, they feel very samey and do not offer enough variety. Also, players were not allowed to lose a mission, as that would instantly fail an operation.
Secondly, player choice was extremely limited. Especially in early operations with few missions, there were mostly only two, or even just one, mission available from a certain node. That gives players very little agency and almost feels like a linear operation, with players just following a given path.
Thirdly, enemies were extremely passive, as they only had a couple of enemy assets that were active at the start of an operation. These would also only show up in later operations, making them even less relevant to the game or player decisions.
Finally, operations were always the exact same length; there were no shortcuts through harder missions or a way to take on easier missions but then increase the length. This led to a very repetitive gameplay experience.
To remedy the above points, we took a list of measures listed below.
Free Choice
The first big change is the removal of the operation paths. Players can now freely choose which mission to take on next from all the missions of the operation. The missions themselves are still drawn randomly from the operation mission pool while trying to avoid drawing any mission multiple times.
This finally gives players the agency they should have according to the setting of the game.
After all, who was deciding which missions had to be done next?
It should be at the discretion of the major. Now the player is 100% in charge. To make this work in the game, we introduced a variety of new factors that make choosing missions matter much more.
New Mission Selection
Mission Difficulty and Enemy Strength
In the new system, all missions have two different factors that show how hard they are.
This is the enemy strength, shown by small human silhouettes. This equals the skulls from before and mainly scales up or down the enemy supplies in a mission.
A high enemy strength mission will have you face a lot more enemy units on the field than a low one. It also scales promotion point rewards.
The new difficulty is called Mission Difficulty.
This shows the relative difficulty of a mission compared to others. It is a value between one, two, and three and is set by the game design.
A mission that most players find reasonably easy, like “Search Weapon Caches,” will have a mission difficulty of 1. A mission that most players find hard will have a mission difficulty of three, for example, “Hunt Down Saboteurs” or “Defend Outpost”.
Please note that most missions have a neutral difficulty of 2, and we will keep balancing the difficulty to match player expectations.
Victory Points
A completely new mechanic that changes up the whole system is called “Victory Points”.
From now on, you will need to accumulate a certain amount of victory points to successfully complete an operation. The amount depends on whether it is a short, medium, or long operation.
The amount of victory points earned from completing a mission equals the sum of Mission Difficulty and Enemy Strength. That means a mission can give any amount of 2-6 victory points depending on its difficulty rating.
The important part is that operations can now be completed faster or slower than before. For example, a short operation needs 10 Victory Points to complete.
This can now be achieved by completing three missions that give 3, 3, and 4 Victory Points. Alternatively, players could only take on two missions that give 5-6 victory points. Players who want to avoid any hard missions could even play 4 missions in that operation.
| Example | Missions | Victory Points |
|---|---|---|
| Three missions | 3 + 3 + 4 | 10 |
| Two missions | 5 + 5 or 5 + 6 | 10-11 |
| Four missions | Lower-value missions | 10+ |
Just note that mission selection and difficulty are random, so not all combinations will always be available. Also, completing an operation faster increases the operation reward rating, while taking longer reduces it.
Enemy Activities and Enemy Offmap Abilities
You read that right, enemies are now able to employ offmap abilities just like the player!
To enable this, we changed how enemy assets work and turned them into Enemy Activities.
The enemy factions in MENACE have always been very passive in operations and never appeared to actively try to win or change the odds in their favor. With the new enemy activities, they are now also advancing their battle plans and are trying to make the operation harder for the player to win.
Enemy Offmap Ability
At the beginning of an operation, a certain number of missions have their strategic asset replaced by an enemy activity. These activities always come with a timer that advances after each mission played.
Once the timer reaches zero, the corresponding enemy activity activates and now affects the battlefield. This can be either a passive modifier to enemy units, like increasing their morale or accuracy, but it can also be an off-map ability, like pirates jury-rigging a rocket to be used as an unguided missile strike against the player.
Enemy Activity Example
However, players can stop these and thwart the enemy's plans by completing the mission with the enemy activity attached. This will either stop the activity from triggering or, if it is already active, disable it.
Of course, the enemy activities can be edited in the difficulty options.
Enemy Activity Options
Losing Missions
Another benefit of the new system is that it allows players to lose a mission and keep playing that operation. The consequence, of course, is that they miss out on that mission's strategic asset, and they are not getting any victory points for it.
However, losing a single mission in an operation will not lead to the operation automatically failing, which will hopefully encourage people to reload less and keep rolling even when losing a mission.
Daylight Cycles and new Planet Depiction
The planets will change during mission selection to new and much better-looking versions made by Hoplite, the studio that made the amazing MENACE intro cinematic together with Syama Pedersen.
They are much more detailed and feature amazingly animated cloud layers as well.
We also added a Day/Night Cycle to all planets. This will show you what light conditions the next mission will be played in, but most importantly, it allows you to see when the night will fall. You can now plan ahead and pick an especially difficult mission to be played at night with your specially prepared night-fighting squad.
Currently, all planets have the same cycle of 3 daylight missions and 1 night mission.
In the future, we want to add back the Dusk and Dawn light settings as well as change light conditions and cycles on different planets.
Wrap Up
The Mission Selection Overhaul will finally give the players the agency that they should have as the commander of the Impetus.
With all the new factors like Victory Points, Enemy Assets, Day and Night cycles, and Mission Difficulties, players are now facing a decision matrix where each choice really matters, and that enables all kinds of different but viable strategies.
After all, giving players the freedom of choice to carve their own way and play the way they want to play is what the game is all about!
Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
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